InPlasTwin Partners Gain Key Expertise in Microplastic Extraction at VITO
InPlasTwin Partners Gain Key Expertise in Microplastic Extraction from Agricultural Soils
Dr. Janja Vidmar (JSI) and dr Dimitrios Savvas (AUA) participated in a research training hosted by the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO) in Mol, Belgium. The main aim of the activity was to strengthen scientific knowledge and laboratory expertise related to the preparation and analysis of environmental soil samples for the extraction and characterization of micro- and nanoplastics. The purpose of the training was to support capacity building, foster knowledge exchange, and contribute to the development of robust, reproducible protocols that can be implemented within the InPlasTwin project and beyond.
During the training, Dr. Vidmar and Dr. Savvas worked in close collaboration with VITO researchers to optimize and refine existing extraction protocols. These protocols involve several key steps:
- Density separation of plastic particles from soil matrices,
- Chemical degradation of organic matter using the Fenton reaction,
- Filtration for particle isolation.
In order to evaluate the efficiency of the extraction process and ensure protocol reproducibility, the team employed a spike recovery approach, whereby a known quantity of microplastics was intentionally added to agricultural soil samples. Dr. Vidmar also received specialized training in cryo-milling techniques, used to produce microplastic particles from conventional polyethylene (PE) mulching films by cryo-milling.
The developed protocol was then applied to real-world environmental samples—agricultural soils collected from the western Peloponnese region in Greece, where PE mulching films are widely used in strawberry farming. This application allowed for testing the method under practical, field-relevant conditions and assessing the presence and distribution of MNP in intensively cultivated soils.
In addition to method development and sample processing, they were trained in advanced analytical techniques employed at VITO for MNP identification and quantification. This included hands-on use of pyrolysis-GC-MS for polymer identification of extracted microplastics, as well as elemental analysis of mulching films (both polyethylene and biodegradable types) using microwave-assisted digestion followed by ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry).